Intermediate passages 1 The best recruiting agents

5 Alpine forests

Forests are the lifeguards of the snowy peaks of the Alps. They provide a natural barrier against avalanches and landslides, but the skiing industry, which proved a boon for poor Alpine farmers, is damaging the environment. Forests have been felled to make way for more ski runs, car parks, and hotels, and Alpine meadows have been abandoned by farmers keen to exploit tourism. Consequently, the avalanche has now become a common phenomenon. Forestry experts estimate that two-thirds of the several thousand avalanches that descend into inhabited parts each year are the result of forest depletion.

1. In the Alps, the attraction of tourism

A) causes two thousand avalanches a year B) has diverted some farmers away from the care of the land
C) has brought much-needed help for protecting the environment D) has lessened due to the threat of avalanches

2. As a consequence of the depletion of Alpine forests

A) many farmers have had to turn to tourism for work B) the skiing industry has suffered a great decline
C) only one-third of all avalanches occur in uninhabited parts D) the frequency of avalanches has greatly increased

3. Alpine farmers

1. 
   were the people who initiated the development of the skiing industry
   
2. 
   have had much of their land taken from them by those involved in tourism
   
3. 
   used to be poor before the rise of the skiing industry
   
4. 
   were forced to turn their meadows into hotels and car parks
   

2

6 The assembly line

Henry Ford was a car builder. He was not the first to have the idea of the horseless coach. The Germans Daimler and Benz had invented it, but he was the first to use the assembly line for mass production. His Model-T car was the first to be produced on the assembly line. The new system cut the time in which the car was put together from 14 hours to 1 hour and 33 minutes. Eventually the price of the car fell from $1,200 to $295. The car lacked certain luxuries; still, it could be relied on and did not need much looking after. Soon, the Model-T became the people's car. After nineteen years, when the Model-T became obsolete and sales dropped sharply - for other car manufacturers, copying Ford's assembly line system, were able to bring down the costs of much more attractive cars - Ford developed the new Model-A. It, too, was the most inexpensive car on the market. Today there are hardly any factories to be found where Ford's assembly line system is not being utilized for mass production.

1. Ford's assembly line system

1. 
   was invented by the Germans Daimler and Benz
   

3. 
   is used in almost every factory today
   

2. 
   was reliable and did not need much maintenance
   
   4. 
      became obsolete after nineteen years
      

2. Henry Ford

1. 
   went bankrupt when sales of his Model-T dropped
   
2. 
   introduced the system of mass production on an assembly line
   
3. 
   made profits of only $295 on his first mass-produced car
   
4. 
   produced the Model-T, which was the first car ever to be built
   

3. 
   Ford had to cease the production of the Model-T because A) manufacturing costs had risen to over $1,000
   

B) he-could not compete with the mass production methods of Daimler and Benz C) the Model-A was being sold at a much lower price

D) the price of more luxurious cars had dropped